JP5678882B2 - Sheet glass manufacturing apparatus and sheet glass manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet glass manufacturing apparatus and a sheet glass manufacturing method, and more particularly to a sheet glass manufacturing apparatus and a sheet glass manufacturing method for forming molten glass into a glass ribbon by a tension roller.

  As the glass ribbon forming method, an up-draw method, a down-draw method, a fusion method, and a tin float method are conventionally known, but in addition, JP-A-2001-180949 (hereinafter, '949) and JP-A-2006. As shown in Japanese Patent No. -28008 (hereinafter referred to as' 008 publication), there has also been proposed a plate glass manufacturing apparatus in which a molten glass supplied from a molten glass supply unit is formed into a glass ribbon by a roller. Here, the glass ribbon here refers to a ribbon-like ribbon in which plate-like glass after the shape is almost determined from a low viscosity state immediately after being discharged from the melting furnace.

  The plate glass manufacturing apparatus disclosed in the '949 publication and the' 008 publication sandwiches the molten glass between upper and lower rolling rollers, and forms the thin glass ribbon by rolling the molten glass with the pressure of the rollers. Is.

  In the rolling roller of the '949 publication, the peripheral surface of the roller body is formed of a roller base material that can contain water, and both ends of the roller are formed of a base material that does not contain water. The water introduced in is vaporized instantaneously from the roller peripheral surface by the heat of the molten glass. As a result, a thin layer of the vapor film is formed between the molten glass and the roller, and a heat insulating layer is formed by the thin layer of the vapor film, thereby preventing the molten glass from being cooled rapidly. it can. In addition, since a thin layer of a vapor film is formed between the molten glass and both rollers, the roller surface does not directly contact the molten glass, so the contact mark of the roller on the surface of the formed glass ribbon, There is an advantage that the irregularities are not transferred.

  The rolling roller of the '008 publication basically has the same structure as the rolling roller of the' 949 publication, but the gas pressure of the gas cushion in one of the rollers arranged up and down is the difference between the one roller and the molten glass. It is adjusted so that a linear contact portion parallel to the axis of the roller in between is formed.

  Here, the rolling roller is a pair of rollers arranged horizontally above and below the glass ribbon, and the surface formed by connecting the central axes of the two rollers is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the glass ribbon. The roller arranged so that the shortest distance of the peripheral surface of a roller may become substantially equal to the assumed final thickness of the glass ribbon. By arranging a pair of rollers at such positions, the glass ribbon is rolled by receiving roller pressure from the upper and lower rollers. In other words, the plate glass manufacturing apparatus disclosed in the '949 publication and the' 008 publication is similar to a manufacturing apparatus using a rolling rollout method.

  By the way, the manufacturing apparatus of the '949 publication and the' 008 publication using a rolling roller basically makes the glass ribbon linearly opposed to the glass ribbon with the rollers arranged above and below the glass ribbon. Since it is a rolling device, the area where the glass ribbon is formed into a thin plate is very small, and the vapor generated there is instantaneously scattered, making it difficult to stably hold the vapor film of the part, resulting in the roller surface There was a problem of transferring the irregularities on the glass ribbon.

  On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-26534 (hereinafter referred to as' 534) discloses a plate glass manufacturing apparatus including a pair of tension rollers and a glass ribbon forming apparatus.

  The manufacturing apparatus of the '534 publication applies tension to the glass ribbon by winding the glass ribbon flowing down from the lip surface at the exit of the glass melting furnace around the pair of tension rollers, and the pair of tension rollers Is a device that forms a glass ribbon having a predetermined thickness with a glass ribbon forming device.

  The tension roller of the '534 publication has substantially the same configuration as the roller disclosed in the' 949 publication, and a glass ribbon is wound around these tension rollers through a thin layer of a vapor film in an S shape. Also, by setting the speed of the tension roller to be higher than the flow speed of the glass ribbon, a fire polishing action is generated at the interface between the tension roller and the glass ribbon, and both sides of the glass ribbon passing through the tension roller are fired. Polish. Thereby, there is an advantage that the surface transfer mark of the lip surface formed on the surface of the glass ribbon and the pulsation mark at the tip of the lip surface can be erased.

  In other words, the tension roller of the '534 publication is not formed into a glass ribbon having a final thickness assuming the molten glass by the tension roller itself, but is arranged for the purpose of fire polishing the surface of the glass ribbon. The glass ribbon is formed to the final plate thickness by a glass ribbon forming apparatus disposed at the subsequent stage of the tension roller. For this reason, the molten glass supplied to the tension roller is adjusted to a higher temperature than the molten glass of, for example, the '949 publication and the' 008 publication so that the molten glass is not cooled to an unmoldable temperature when passing through the tension roller. ing.

  Here, the tension roller is a roller arranged so as to hang the glass ribbon around the roller so that a pulling force is applied in the moving direction of the glass ribbon, unlike the arrangement of the rolling roller. With this arrangement, the glass ribbon is wound around the peripheral surface of the tension roller for a predetermined length, and the opposing surface between the glass ribbon and the roller becomes large, and fire polishing is effectively performed.

  Further, the glass ribbon forming apparatus disclosed in the '534 publication includes a large number of supports formed so as to be able to contain water therein, a liquid supply device for supplying water to the support, and a belt for circulating the support. It is comprised by the conveyor and the conveyance drive roller which conveys the shape | molded glass ribbon.

  The glass ribbon supplied on the support from the tension roller is formed into a glass ribbon with the final thickness assumed while moving along with the support through a thin layer of vapor film formed between the support and the glass ribbon. It will be done. In addition, since the tensile force that pulls the glass ribbon on the support in the transport direction is generated by the frictional resistance between the plurality of transport drive rollers and the glass ribbon, the glass that is formed by changing the rotation speed of the transport drive roller The ribbon thickness can be controlled.

  By the way, when the glass ribbon passing through the glass ribbon forming apparatus is pulled in the conveying direction, the width of the glass ribbon is narrowed by the tensile force, the width of the formed glass ribbon is narrower than the desired width, and the plate thickness is also reduced. There is a problem that it becomes thicker than the desired plate thickness.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-47020 (hereinafter referred to as “020”) discloses a forming apparatus that solves the above-described problems of the glass ribbon forming apparatus disclosed in the “534” publication. The forming apparatus disclosed in the '020 publication is an apparatus for forming molten glass into a glass ribbon while maintaining the vicinity of both ends in the width direction of the glass ribbon in a shape that is difficult to shrink in the width direction. Specifically, by forming concave grooves on both sides of the support and bending both ends of the glass ribbon in the width direction with its own weight, the flat part of the glass ribbon contracts in the width direction. It is preventing. According to this forming apparatus, there is an advantage that the glass ribbon can be formed into a desired width and a desired plate thickness.

  However, the plate glass manufacturing apparatus disclosed in the '020 publication requires a large molding apparatus including a large number of supports, a liquid supply apparatus, a belt conveyor, and a plurality of transport driving rollers, so that the apparatus facilities are enlarged. There was a problem.

  As described above, since the manufacturing apparatus of the '949 publication and the' 008 publication using a rolling roller is an apparatus for forming molten glass into a glass ribbon having a final plate thickness by the rolling roller, it is disclosed in the '534 publication and the' 020 publication. There is an advantage that the disclosed forming apparatus becomes unnecessary, and the apparatus equipment is reduced in size, but the area where the glass ribbon is formed into a thin plate is extremely small as a linear shape, and the vapor film of the part can be stably held. It is difficult to transfer the irregularities on the roller surface to the glass ribbon.

  On the other hand, the production apparatus of the '534 publication and the' 020 publication has an advantage that the molten glass can be formed into a glass ribbon having a constant plate thickness, and the production apparatus of the '020 publication has a desired width and a desired plate. There is an advantage that it can be formed into a thick glass ribbon, but both manufacturing apparatuses have a problem that the apparatus equipment is enlarged because a large-scale forming apparatus is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is capable of forming molten glass into a glass ribbon having a desired width and a desired plate thickness and good surface quality, and miniaturizing equipment. It aims at providing the manufacturing apparatus of the plate glass which can be manufactured, and the manufacturing method of plate glass.

  The present invention includes a molten glass ribbon supply unit that supplies a continuous flow of molten glass as a glass ribbon having a moldable temperature to a molding unit, and a glass ribbon having a moldable temperature that is supplied from the molten glass ribbon supply unit. A molding unit including a plurality of tension rollers that are glass ribbons having an unmoldable temperature; and a carry-out unit that unloads the glass ribbons having an unmoldable temperature on the downstream side of the molding unit. Are arranged in the horizontal direction and orthogonal to the moving direction of the glass ribbon, and among the plurality of tension rollers, the odd-numbered tension rollers from the upstream side in the moving direction of the glass ribbon are located on the lower surface side of the glass ribbon, The even-numbered tension rollers are located on the upper surface side of the glass ribbon, and the odd-numbered adjacent and below the plurality of tension rollers. In the even-numbered tension roller, the highest position of the peripheral surface of the odd-numbered tension roller is arranged at the same height as or higher than the lowest position of the peripheral surface of the even-numbered tension roller, and adjacent odd-numbered tension rollers. The distance between the circumferential surfaces of the even-numbered tension rollers is wider than the thickness of the glass ribbon existing between the circumferential surfaces, and at least the most upstream tension roller among the odd-numbered tension rollers of the plurality of tension rollers, At least two tension rollers on the most upstream side of the tension rollers or at least two tension rollers on the most upstream side among the odd-numbered and even-numbered tension rollers are arranged at both ends of the glass ribbon in the circumferential direction of both ends. A concave groove for forming a substantially convex strip portion, and all or first of the plurality of tension rollers. All the components except for the non-rotating roller are formed of a roller base material capable of containing a vapor film forming agent therein, and the vapor generated from the vapor film forming agent contained in the roller base material is transferred to the tension roller peripheral surface and the glass ribbon surface. A sheet glass manufacturing apparatus, characterized by being a steam generating tension roller having a structure supplied between the two.

  According to the plate glass manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, when molten glass is supplied from the molten glass ribbon supply unit to the even-numbered and even-numbered tension rollers in the uppermost stream among the tension rollers of the forming unit, the width direction of the glass ribbon Both end portions of the roller are formed into substantially convex portions by concave grooves formed at both end portions of one or both of the tension rollers, due to its own weight or by tension applied to the glass ribbon. As a result, the glass ribbon is prevented from contracting in the width direction. The glass ribbon is cooled to a temperature at which it cannot be formed while passing through a plurality of tension rollers on the downstream side, and formed into a glass ribbon having a desired width and a desired plate thickness. And after passing this glass ribbon, this glass ribbon is carried out by the carrying-out part as it is. Note that the substantially convex portions at both ends of the glass ribbon may be located at the center of the glass ribbon from the end of the glass ribbon or may be at the end of the glass ribbon.

  That is, according to the present invention, by using the tension roller, the disadvantages of the '949 publication and the' 008 publication that use the rolling roller can be eliminated, and the concave groove formed in the tension roller of the molded part, The molten glass can be formed into a glass ribbon having a desired width and a desired plate thickness. In addition, since the forming apparatus as in the '534 and' 020 publications is not required, and the glass ribbon that has passed through the forming part is conveyed by a simple unloading part, the equipment of the manufacturing apparatus is reduced in size. .

  According to the present invention, in the tension roller, in the roller base material that can contain the vapor film forming agent therein, the vapor film forming agent that is a gas at the glass transition point of the glass, not a gas near the room temperature, is liquid. It is introduced in a state, and tension is applied to the glass ribbon through a thin layer of the vapor film in which the vapor film forming agent is vaporized by the high heat of the glass ribbon. As a result, a heat insulation layer is formed by a thin vapor film between the glass ribbon and the tension roller, so that rapid cooling of the molten glass can be prevented and the surface of the roller base material does not directly contact the glass ribbon. Therefore, the trace of contact with the surface of the roller base material and the substantially unevenness of the surface of the roller base material are not transferred to the surface of the formed glass ribbon, and a glass ribbon with good quality can be formed.

  In addition, as a carrying-out part, a roller conveyor with a simple structure can be illustrated. In addition, when the glass ribbon is carried out in a substantially vertical direction, a roller that contacts the front and back surfaces of the glass ribbon can be exemplified.

  Also, one of the uppermost odd-numbered or even-numbered tension rollers in which the concave groove is formed is the odd-numbered one in the case where a substantially convex portion is formed by its own weight at both ends of the glass ribbon. On the other hand, when a tension (tensile force) is applied to the glass ribbon to form a substantially convex portion, the tension roller is an even-numbered tension roller. Usually, the glass ribbon passes through the forming part in a state where a tensile force is applied by the frictional resistance between the carry-out part and the glass ribbon, and it is possible to form a substantially convex part by its own weight. By making it larger than the force, it is possible to form substantially convex portions at both ends of the glass ribbon by the concave grooves of the upper tension roller.

  In the plate glass manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the first tension roller may be a steam generating tension roller having a concave groove.

  In the sheet glass manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the first tension roller may be a cooling roller cooled by a coolant introduced into the roller body, and at least the most upstream tension of the even-numbered tension rollers. The roller may have a concave groove.

  According to the present invention, only the odd-numbered tension roller arranged in the uppermost stream is a so-called cooling roller, and the roller body is cooled by the cooling liquid introduced into the roller body. It is cooled directly by being in sliding contact with the surface of the body. Thus, by directly cooling the glass ribbon only by the cooling roller on the lowermost stream, it is possible to obtain a cooling capacity approximately three times that of a tension roller that cools the molten glass through a thin layer of a vapor film. . For this reason, the apparatus can be made more compact by reducing the number of tension rollers while suppressing transfer of unevenness of the roller on the lower surface of the glass ribbon by the tension roller that forms a vapor film downstream of the cooling roller.

  In the sheet glass manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, when the first tension roller has a concave groove, the odd-numbered tension roller after that, and when the second tension roller has the concave groove, the even-numbered number after that. The tension roller may have an end portion having a smaller diameter than the diameter of the central portion.

  In the plate glass manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the position of the axis of the odd-numbered tension roller may be lower than the position of the axis of the adjacent even-numbered tension roller.

  In the plate glass manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the steam generating tension roller may have a groove for releasing steam on its peripheral surface.

  According to the present invention, a glass ribbon at a moldable temperature is molded through a plurality of tension rollers arranged with its axis in the horizontal direction and perpendicular to the moving direction of the glass ribbon. In the glass sheet manufacturing method, the glass ribbons at the formable temperature are arranged alternately above and below the glass ribbons with the peripheral surface spacing between adjacent tension rollers being separated wider than the thickness of the glass ribbon existing between the peripheral surfaces. Formed between a plurality of tension rollers formed, and substantially convex strips are formed at both ends in the width direction of the glass ribbon by tension rollers having concave grooves formed in the circumferential direction at both ends. A steam generating tension roller is used as at least a part of the tension roller, and steam is interposed between the glass ribbon and the peripheral surface of the steam generating tension roller. To provide a method of manufacturing a glass sheet, characterized in that for supporting the glass ribbon in tension roller Te.

  In the method for producing sheet glass of the present invention, a glass ribbon at a formable temperature is first supported by a steam generating tension roller having a concave groove provided on the lower side of the glass ribbon, and then provided on the upper side of the glass ribbon. Alternatively, it may be supported by a steam generating tension roller.

  In the glass sheet manufacturing method of the present invention, a glass ribbon at a formable temperature is first cooled by being supported by a cooling roller provided on the lower side of the glass ribbon, and then a concave groove provided on the upper side of the glass ribbon. It may be supported by a steam generating tension roller having

  In the method for producing sheet glass of the present invention, a glass ribbon at a formable temperature is first supported by a steam generating tension roller having a concave groove provided on the lower side of the glass ribbon, and then provided on the upper side of the glass ribbon. It may be supported by a steam generation tension roller having a concave groove.

In the plate glass manufacturing method of the present invention, the temperature of the glass ribbon at the position immediately before contacting the first tension roller is at a temperature equivalent to about 10 ^{2.0 to 3.9} Pa · s that can be formed, and the last tension roller has The temperature of the glass ribbon at the position immediately after contact may be at a temperature equivalent to about 10 ^6.4 Pa · s, which cannot be formed.

  In the method for producing sheet glass of the present invention, when the steam generating tension roller is rotated in the reverse direction with respect to the moving direction of the glass ribbon, or when rotating in the forward direction, the moving speed of the glass ribbon is 1.1 times or more. It may be rotated at a peripheral speed.

  In the manufacturing method of the plate glass of this invention, the glass ribbon used as the temperature which cannot be shape | molded may be annealed, and you may cut | disconnect after that.

  The present invention provides a method for producing a plate glass, characterized in that the glass ribbon carried out from the carry-out section of the plate glass production apparatus is slowly cooled and then cut.

  As described above, according to the plate glass manufacturing apparatus and the plate glass manufacturing method of the present invention, the molten glass can be formed into a glass ribbon having a desired width and a desired plate thickness, and the equipment is downsized. can do.

  Moreover, according to the manufacturing apparatus of the plate glass of this invention, and the manufacturing method of plate glass, plate glass with favorable quality can be manufactured.

Side view of plate glass manufacturing apparatus used as a reference for explaining the plate glass manufacturing apparatus of the first embodiment The principal part expansion perspective view of the manufacturing apparatus of the plate glass shown in FIG. Side view of plate glass manufacturing apparatus used as a reference for explaining the plate glass manufacturing apparatus of the second embodiment The principal part expansion perspective view of the manufacturing apparatus of the plate glass shown in FIG. The principal part expanded side view which showed the structure of the shaping | molding apparatus of the manufacturing apparatus of the plate glass of 1st embodiment Sectional view along the axial direction of the tension roller The principal part expanded side view which showed the structure of the shaping | molding apparatus of the manufacturing apparatus of the plate glass of 2nd embodiment The principal part enlarged side view which showed the structure of the shaping | molding apparatus of the manufacturing apparatus of the plate glass of 3rd embodiment Perspective view of tension roller with spiral escape groove A perspective view of a tension roller in which a steam escape groove is formed along the axial direction

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a sheet glass production apparatus and a sheet glass production method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a side view of a sheet glass manufacturing apparatus 10 used as a reference for explaining the sheet glass manufacturing apparatus of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the sheet glass manufacturing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. It is a principal part expansion perspective view.

  In this manufacturing apparatus 10, a glass melting furnace (molten glass supply unit) 12, a molding device (molding unit) 14, and a roller carry-out device (carry-out unit) 16 are sequentially arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side of the molten glass G. Configured. In addition, a slow cooling furnace 17 for gradually cooling the formed glass ribbon is installed on the downstream side of the roller carry-out portion 16, and a cutting means 100 for cutting the glass ribbon that has been gradually ordered is installed on the downstream side. While passing through the slow cooling furnace 17, the glass ribbon is cooled to substantially room temperature, and then the glass ribbon is cut into a predetermined size to produce a plate glass. That is, by including the slow cooling furnace 17 and the cutting means 100 in the plate glass manufacturing apparatus 10, the plate glass manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment is configured. In addition, the slow cooling furnace 17 and the cutting means 100 may be a well-known apparatus, and the form is not ask | required.

The glass melting furnace 12 is a tank that melts a predetermined glass raw material to be a plate glass and controls a melting temperature to prepare and store a molten glass G having a viscosity range and a temperature range suitable for molding. Since there is a correlation between the viscosity of the molten glass G and the temperature, the viscosity of the molten glass G in the glass melting furnace 12 is managed by adjusting the temperature of the molten glass G with heating equipment. The melting of the glass in the glass melting furnace 12 depends on the glass composition. For example, in the case of soda-lime glass, the melting temperature is about 1450 to 1550 ° C. (viscosity is 10 ^{0.7 to 1.0} Pa · s). It takes a sufficient time to eliminate glass bubble defects, composition variations, and other defects in the temperature range.

  The molten glass G whose temperature and viscosity are adjusted by the glass melting furnace 12 is supplied to the molding apparatus 14 as a glass ribbon having a moldable temperature as a continuous molten glass flow from the lip surface 13 at the outlet of the glass melting furnace 12. The glass ribbon GL is molded by the molding device 14.

In addition, when soda lime glass is illustrated as glass, the temperature of the molten glass G supplied to the shaping ^| molding apparatus 14 has about 930-1200 degreeC which is the temperature equivalent to 102.0-3.9 Pa.s. If the temperature of the molten glass G is within this range, it is sufficiently soft to start forming, and the glass temperature is not too high. In order to control the devitrification of the glass, it is more preferable that the molten glass G whose temperature is adjusted to about 1000 to 1100 (viscosity 10 ^{2.6 to 3.3} Pa · s) is supplied to the molding apparatus 14. Further, the glass melting furnace 12 has a lip type supply section, but may use a slit shape of a downdraw method or a saddle shape of a fusion method. That is, the molten glass supply unit of the present invention may be in any form as long as it can supply the ribbon-shaped molten glass to the molding apparatus 14.

  The forming apparatus 14 is composed of a plurality of tension rollers 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, and a glass ribbon GL flowing down from the lip surface 13 of the glass melting furnace 12 is wound around these tension rollers 18-26 in order. It is done.

  Here, the tension rollers 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 are arranged such that the axial centers thereof are in the horizontal direction and orthogonal to the moving direction of the glass ribbon GL. Of the plurality of tension rollers, odd-numbered tension rollers 18, 22, and 26 are located on the lower surface side of the glass ribbon GL from the upstream side in the moving direction of the glass ribbon GL, and even-numbered tension rollers 20 and 24 are glass ribbons. It is located on the upper surface side. Further, in the adjacent odd-numbered and even-numbered tension rollers 18 and 20 or 22 and 24 downstream thereof, the highest position of the circumferential surface of the odd-numbered tension roller 18 or 22 is the circumferential surface of the even-numbered tension roller 20 or 24. The closest distance between the peripheral surfaces of the odd-numbered and even-numbered tension rollers 18 and 20 or 22 and 24 adjacent to each other is located at the same height as or higher than the lowest position. It becomes larger than the thickness of the glass ribbon GL. It is preferable that the position of the axis of the odd-numbered tension roller 18 or 22 is lower than the position of the axis of the adjacent even-numbered tension roller 20 or 24.

These tension rollers 18 to 26 are rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 by a rotational drive source (not shown). As a result, the molten glass G is cooled while being applied with tension from the tension rollers 18 to 26 and formed into a glass ribbon GL. Further, although the upper tension roller that is paired with the tension roller 26 arranged on the lowermost downstream side of the molding apparatus 14 is not arranged, it is also possible to arrange the upper tension roller. In this case, the molding apparatus 14 is provided with three pairs of upper and lower tension rollers. Further, the length of the passage of the glass ribbon GL by these tension rollers 18 to 26 is such that the temperature of the glass ribbon GL immediately after passing through the tension roller 26 is about 10 ^6.4 Pa · s equivalent temperature at which molding is impossible. It is set to be. That is, in the forming apparatus 14, the glass ribbon is controlled to have a temperature equivalent to 10 ^{2.0 to 6.4} Pa · s (750 to 1200 ° C. for soda-lime glass). Within this range, there is no problem in formability, the temperature of the glass ribbon is not too high, the molding time is not lengthened, and the number of tension rollers is not increased. More preferably, the temperature is controlled to be equivalent to 10 ^{2.9 to 6.4} Pa · s (750 to 1050 ° C. for soda-lime glass). More preferably, the temperature is controlled to be equivalent to 10 ^{2.9 to 5.5} Pa · s (800 to 1050 ° C. for soda-lime glass).

Taking soda-lime glass as an example, the temperature corresponding to about 10 ^6.2 Pa · s is about 760 ° C. In the molding apparatus 14 of the embodiment, the temperature of the glass ribbon GL immediately after passing through the tension roller 26. Is set to a length of about 750 ° C.

  Therefore, according to the molding apparatus 14 of the embodiment, the glass ribbon GL of about 930 to 1200 ° C. supplied to the first and second tension rollers 18 and 20 is cooled while passing through the molding apparatus 14. The glass ribbon GL is formed, and immediately after passing through the fifth tension roller 26, it is formed into a glass ribbon GL having a final plate thickness of about 750 ° C. that cannot be formed. The length of the passage of the glass ribbon GL includes the temperature of the glass ribbon GL, the winding length of the glass ribbon GL with respect to the tension rollers 18 to 26 (the opposing length of the glass ribbon and each roller), and the tension roller It is set as appropriate based on the number. That is, the number of tension rollers is not limited to the five shown in FIGS. A pair of tension rollers may be used as long as the glass ribbon can have a predetermined thickness only by the first and second tension rollers, and the temperature of the glass ribbon downstream of the molding apparatus 14 can be cooled to a temperature at which molding is impossible.

  The glass ribbon GL formed by the forming device 14 is in a state in which the lower surface thereof is in contact with the plurality of rollers 28, 28... Of the roller carry-out device 16 disposed at the subsequent stage of the forming device 14. It is carried out to. Since the glass ribbon GL that has passed through the forming device 14 is cooled to a temperature at which it cannot be formed, the plurality of rollers 28, 28,... The rollers 28 are rotated in the direction of the arrow by a rotation drive source (not shown). Moreover, although the glass ribbon after shaping | molding is taken out horizontally in FIG. 1, the case where the glass ribbon after shaping | molding is taken out in a substantially perpendicular direction is also the scope of the present invention. In this case, the roller may be brought into contact with the front and back surfaces of the glass ribbon and carried out.

  By the way, the tension rollers 18 to 26 of the forming apparatus 14 are vertically arranged with the glass ribbon passing path passing through the glass ribbon GL in a side view, and each axis 18A, 20A, 22A. , 24A, 26A are arranged substantially vertically and horizontally with respect to the moving direction of the glass ribbon GL.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the glass melts in the circumferential direction at both ends (only one end is shown in FIG. 2) of the first tension roller 18 on the most upstream side among the odd-numbered tension rollers 18, 22, and 26. Concave grooves 30 are formed at both ends of the glass ribbon GL supplied from the furnace 12 so as to form a substantially convex portion A by its own weight. The depth of the concave groove 30 is preferably 1 to 10 mm, more preferably 2 to 7 mm, and further preferably 3 to 4 mm. The width of the concave groove 30 is preferably 10 to 100 mm, more preferably 20 to 80 mm, and still more preferably 30 to 60 mm. In addition, the substantially convex-shaped part A formed in the both ends of a glass ribbon may be the place which entered the center direction of the glass ribbon from the outermost part of the glass ribbon like FIG. May be in the department. When the substantially convex portion is not located at the endmost portion of the glass ribbon, it is preferable that the substantially convex portion is at a position of 100 mm or less from the endmost portion toward the center of the glass ribbon. In addition, similar concave grooves may be formed in the circumferential direction of both ends of the odd-numbered tension rollers 22 and 26 after the tension roller 18.

  The tension rollers 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 in the first embodiment are all made of a roller base material that can contain a vapor film forming agent inside as described later, and are included in the roller base material. The steam generating tension roller has a structure in which steam generated from the steam film forming agent is supplied between the tension roller peripheral surface and the glass ribbon surface.

  Next, the operation of the plate glass manufacturing apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described.

When molten glass G is supplied from the lip surface 13 at the outlet of the glass melting furnace 12 to the first and second tension rollers 18 and 20 arranged on the most upstream side of the molding apparatus 14, the width direction of the glass ribbon GL The both ends of the glass ribbon GL hang down in the concave grooves 30 formed at both ends of the first tension roller 18 due to their own weights, so that a substantially convex portion is formed. In FIG. 2, the substantially convex part A of the glass ribbon GL formed by the concave groove 30 is shown in cross section. Of course, the substantially convex portion A is continuously formed on the lower surface of the glass ribbon GL and along the moving direction of the glass ribbon GL. Thereby, since the substantially convex-shaped part A engaged with the concave-shaped groove | channel 30 is formed in the both ends, the glass ribbon GL is prevented from contracting in the width direction. The glass ribbon GL is cooled to an unmoldable temperature as described above while passing through the downstream tension rollers 22, 24, 26, and formed into a glass ribbon GL having a desired width and a desired plate thickness. Is done. And since this glass ribbon GL is cooled to the temperature (about 750 degree | times) which cannot be shape | molded after passing through the shaping | molding apparatus 14, the lower surface is directly on the several rollers 28, 28 ... of the roller carrying-out apparatus 16 as it is. Carried out in contact. F ₁ in FIG. 1 shows the tension of the glass ribbon GL, this tensile force F ₁ is the frictional resistance between the plurality of rollers 28, 28 ... and the glass ribbon GL rollers carry-out device 16, or roller This is caused by a pulling device (not shown) arranged at the subsequent stage of the carry-out device 16.

  According to the manufacturing apparatus 10 in the form of a glass ribbon configured as described above, the disadvantages of the '949 publication and the' 008 publication that use a rolling roller can be eliminated by using the tension rollers 18 to 26. . Further, the concave grooves 30 formed in the first tension roller 18 of the molding apparatus 14 form substantially convex portions at both ends of the glass ribbon GL, so that the molten glass G has a desired width and a desired plate thickness. It can be formed into a glass ribbon GL. Further, since the glass ribbon GL that has passed through the molding apparatus 14 is conveyed in a contact state by the roller unloading apparatus 16 having a simple structure, the molding apparatus as in the '534 and' 020 publications is not required. There is an effect that the equipment of the above becomes small.

  1 and 2, in the molding apparatus 14, when only the first tension roller in the passage of the glass ribbon GL has the concave groove 30, an odd number after the first tension roller. It is preferable that small diameter portions 22C and 26C for allowing the substantially convex portions A of the glass ribbon GL to escape from the roller main body portions 22B and 26B of the tension rollers 22 and 26 are formed at both ends of the tension rollers 22 and 26. The small-diameter portions 22C and 26C are configured to have a smaller diameter than the roller main body portions 22B and 26B at the center of the roller, and the steps with the roller main body portions 22B and 26B are set to be substantially the same as the height of the convex portion A. Yes. Thereby, the surface excluding both ends of the glass ribbon GL on which the substantially convex portion A is formed, that is, the surface to be a product is stably conveyed by the roller main body portions 22B and 26B. Further, both end portions of the glass ribbon GL on which the substantially convex portion A is formed are cut and reused at the subsequent stage of the manufacturing apparatus 10.

  FIG. 3 is a side view of the plate glass manufacturing apparatus 40 used as a reference for explaining the plate glass manufacturing apparatus of the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view of the plate glass manufacturing apparatus 40 shown in FIG. It is a principal part expansion perspective view. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the member same or similar to the manufacturing apparatus 10 of the plate glass shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The manufacturing apparatus 40 includes a glass melting furnace 12, a forming apparatus 42, a roller carry-out apparatus 16, a slow cooling furnace 17, and a cutting means 100.

  The molding device 42 is composed of a plurality of tension rollers 44, 46, 48, 50 and 52, as in the molding device 14 of FIG. 1, and the glass ribbon GL flowing down from the lip surface 13 of the glass melting furnace 12 It is wound around the tension rollers 44 to 52 in order.

  Here, the tension rollers 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 are arranged such that the axis is in the horizontal direction and orthogonal to the moving direction of the glass ribbon GL. Of the plurality of tension rollers, odd-numbered tension rollers 44, 48, 52 are positioned on the lower surface side of the glass ribbon GL from the upstream side in the moving direction of the glass ribbon GL, and even-numbered tension rollers 46, 50 are the glass ribbon. It is located on the upper surface side. Further, in the adjacent odd-numbered and even-numbered tension rollers 44 and 46 or 48 and 50 downstream thereof, the highest position of the peripheral surface of the odd-numbered tension roller 44 or 48 is the peripheral surface of the even-numbered tension roller 46 or 50. The closest distance between the peripheral surfaces of the odd-numbered and even-numbered tension rollers 44 and 46 or 48 and 50 adjacent to each other is located at the same height as or higher than the lowest position. It becomes larger than the thickness of the glass ribbon GL. It is preferable that the position of the axis of the odd-numbered tension roller 44 or 48 is lower than the position of the axis of the adjacent even-numbered tension roller 46 or 50.

The tension roller 52 arranged on the lowermost downstream side of the molding apparatus 42 is not provided with an upper tension roller that is paired with the tension roller 52, but it is also possible to arrange this upper tension roller. Further, the length of the passage of the glass ribbon GL by the tension rollers 44 to 52 is such that the temperature of the glass ribbon GL immediately after passing through the tension roller 52 is a temperature equivalent to about 10 ^6.4 Pa · s, which cannot be formed, or It is set to be about 750 ° C. Further, the tension rollers 44 to 52 are arranged so that the glass ribbon GL passes through the meandering in a side view, with the axis 44A, 46A, 48A, 50A, 52A being glass ribbons. Are arranged substantially vertically and horizontally in the moving direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, in the circumferential direction of both end portions (only one end portion is shown in FIG. 4) of the second tension roller 46 disposed on the most upstream side among the even-numbered tension rollers 46 and 50. is at both ends of the glass ribbon GL supplied from a glass melting furnace 12, a concave groove 54 to form a generally convex portion B by tensile force F ₂ of the glass ribbon GL are formed. A similar concave groove may be formed in the circumferential direction of both end portions of the even-numbered tension roller 50 after the tension roller 46. Further, the substantially convex portions B formed at both ends of the glass ribbon GL may be located at the center of the glass ribbon from the endmost portion of the glass ribbon as shown in FIG. It may be at the end. When the substantially convex portion is not located at the endmost portion of the glass ribbon, it is preferable that the substantially convex portion is at a position of 100 mm or less from the endmost portion toward the center of the glass ribbon.

That is, the second embodiment of the flat glass production apparatus 40, the tensile force F ₂ of the glass ribbon GL, and greater than the tensile force F ₁ of the manufacturing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, the second tension roller The concave grooves 54 forcibly form substantially convex portions at both ends of the glass ribbon GL.

  The tension rollers 46, 48, 50, and 52 in the second embodiment are steam generation tension rollers to be described later. On the other hand, the tension roller 44 may be a steam generating tension roller or a cooling roller described later.

  Next, the operation of the plate glass manufacturing apparatus 40 configured as described above will be described.

From the lip surface 13 of the outlet of the glass melting furnace 12, the molten glass G is supplied to the first and the tension roller 44, 46 disposed in the second shaping device 42, the tensile force F ₂ of the glass ribbon GL, At both ends in the width direction of the glass ribbon GL, substantially convex portions are forcibly formed by the concave grooves 54 formed at both ends of the second tension roller 46. In FIG. 4, a substantially convex portion B of the glass ribbon GL bent in the concave groove 54 is shown in cross section. The substantially convex portion B is continuously formed on the upper surface of the glass ribbon GL along the passing direction of the glass ribbon GL. Thereby, since the substantially convex-shaped part B engaged with the concave-shaped groove | channel 54 is formed in the both ends, the glass ribbon GL is prevented from shrink | contracting in the width direction. The glass ribbon GL is cooled to an unmoldable temperature as described above while passing through the tension rollers 48 to 52 on the downstream side, and formed into a glass ribbon having a desired width and a desired plate thickness. Further, the glass ribbon GL is cooled to a temperature at which molding is impossible, and is carried out in a state where the lower surfaces thereof are in contact with the plurality of rollers 28 of the roller carrying-out device 16.

  Therefore, this plate glass manufacturing apparatus 40 can also obtain the same effects as the plate glass manufacturing apparatus 10 shown in FIGS.

  3 and 4, in the molding apparatus 42, when only the second tension roller 46 has the concave groove 54, both ends of the fourth tension roller 50, which is an even number after that, It is preferable that a small diameter portion 50 </ b> C for allowing the substantially convex portion B of the glass ribbon GL to escape from the roller main body portion 50 </ b> B of the tension roller 50 is formed.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the configuration of the forming device 14 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the glass ribbon manufacturing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 shows that all the tension rollers 18 to 26 (the tension rollers 24 and 26 are not shown) of the molding apparatus 14 are steam generating tension rollers.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the steam generating tension roller will be described by taking the tension roller 18 as an example.

  As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 6, the tension roller 18 is formed by a roller base 60 capable of containing a vapor film forming agent inside the roller body, and both ends of the roller (including the concave groove 30). The vapor film forming agent 64 is formed of a base material 62 and 62 that can contain a vapor film forming agent therein, and the roller base material 60 and the vapor film forming agent 64 introduced into the base material 62 and 62 as indicated by arrows are molten glass. The glass ribbon GL is configured to vaporize from the peripheral surface of the roller due to high heat. Thereby, a thin layer 66 of a vapor film is stably formed between the glass ribbon GL and the tension roller 18 as shown in FIG.

  As a method of supplying the vapor film forming agent to the tension roller 18, the entire base materials 60 and 62 are supplied by supplying the vapor film forming agent to the central cavity portion 72 formed between the rotating shaft 68 and the inner peripheral surface portion 70 of the tension roller 18. Alternatively, a wetting roller (not shown) may be disposed in contact with the side of the tension roller 18 that does not face the glass ribbon GL, and the vapor film forming agent supplied to the wetting roller is in contact with the tension roller 18. You may make it move to. Further, a spray method in which a vapor film forming agent is sprayed onto the surface of the tension roller 18 using a nozzle may be used. In short, any method may be used as long as it can be supplied so that the vapor film forming agent is sufficiently contained in the base materials 60 and 62 of the tension roller 18.

  The base materials 60 and 62 are materials or structures that can contain a liquid therein, and for example, a porous porous material or a fibrous material can be suitably used. In the case of a porous body, a communication hole is preferable. Moreover, it is preferable that the surface of the porous body has fine pores having a pore diameter of preferably 1 mm or less, more preferably 0.1 mm or less, and still more preferably 30 μm or less. Thereby, transfer of the hole shape to the glass ribbon GL can be prevented. The porous body is preferably made of a material having a high lyophilic property (for example, hydrophilicity in terms of water) with the vapor film forming agent 64.

  As the basic material of the substrates 60 and 62, porous hydrophilic carbon is particularly suitable, but other materials such as polymer materials derived from natural products such as cellulose, paper, wood, bamboo, thermoplastic resins, A thermosetting resin, a synthetic polymer material such as rubber, a carbon material, or the like can be suitably used. In addition, metal materials such as iron, stainless steel, and platinum, metal oxides such as aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, silicon carbide, and silicon nitride, metal carbide, ceramic materials mainly composed of metal nitride, and the like can also be used. The molding surfaces of the base materials 60 and 62 may be very smooth except for fine holes and fibrous irregularities, and conversely, there may be certain irregularities.

  As the vapor film forming agent 64 to be used, various substances such as organic substances and inorganic substances which are liquid at normal temperature and are gaseous at the glass transition point can be used. Further, from the viewpoint of the operability of supply to the substrates 60 and 62, the melting point is 40 ° C. or lower, the boiling point under atmospheric pressure is 50 to 500 ° C., more preferably 300 ° C. or lower. Further, it is preferable that the vapor formed by the vapor film forming agent 64 does not react chemically enough to adversely affect the glass, has low toxicity, and is preferably nonflammable at the temperature used. It can be illustrated.

  Thus, as the vapor film forming agent 64, it is necessary to appropriately select a liquid that can be instantly vaporized by the high heat of the glass ribbon GL and form a stable thin layer 66 of the vapor film. . The thermal conductivity of the thin layer 66 of the vapor film formed by instantaneous vaporization with high heat is remarkably small compared with the thermal conductivity of liquid or solid, so that an adiabatic environment with respect to the glass ribbon GL is created. Can be formed. If the thickness of the thin layer 66 of the vapor film is too small, the tension roller 18 and the glass ribbon GL may be in direct contact with each other, and the heat insulating layer is insufficiently formed, and the surface of the tension roller 18 is uneven. Since it is easily affected, a minimum of 10 μm or more, preferably 50 μm or more is required. Further, if the vapor film thin layer 66 is too thick, the pressure of the tension roller 18 is difficult to be transmitted. Therefore, the thickness is preferably 500 μm or less, and preferably 200 μm or less.

As the vapor film forming agent 64, various types can be used as described above, but usually water is preferable in terms of operability, availability, safety and the like. Further, when the base materials 60 and 62 are porous porous bodies, the peripheral speed of the tension roller 18 is set to about 1.1 than the conveying speed of the glass ribbon GL so that the porous pattern is not transferred to the glass ribbon GL. It is preferable to make it twice or more faster, and it is more preferable to reverse the direction of rotation of the tension roller 18 with respect to the conveying direction of the glass ribbon GL. By increasing the peripheral speed of the tension roller 18 by about 1.1 times or more than the conveying speed of the glass ribbon GL, the frequency of renewing the vapor film on the surface of the glass ribbon is increased, and the quality of the glass ribbon surface is improved. This effect is further enhanced when the tension roller 18 is rotated in the reverse direction. Further, the tension roller 18 and the glass ribbon GL, since a non-contact through a thin layer 66 of a steam film, does not occur a problem in the conveyance of the glass ribbon GL by tensile force F _1.

  By applying the tension roller 18 which is such a steam generating tension roller to the molding device 14, a heat insulating layer is formed by the thin layer 66 of the vapor film between the glass ribbon GL and the tension roller 18, so that the glass ribbon Rapid cooling of GL can be prevented. Further, since the peripheral surfaces of the base materials 60 and 62 are not in direct contact with the glass ribbon GL, contact marks between the surface of the formed glass ribbon GL and the peripheral surfaces of the base materials 60 and 62, The surface irregularities are not transferred. Therefore, by using the tension roller 18 which is a vapor film type generation tension roller, a glass ribbon GL having a good quality can be formed. As a result, the plate glass which has passed through the slow cooling furnace 17 also has a good quality.

  Note that all the tension rollers 20 to 26 arranged on the downstream side are also steam generation tension rollers, so that a thin layer 66 of a vapor film is formed between the upper and lower surfaces of the glass ribbon GL and the tension rollers 20 to 26. Therefore, the peripheral surfaces of the base materials 60 and 62 of the tension rollers 20 to 26 do not directly contact the glass ribbon GL. As a result, contact marks with the peripheral surfaces of the base materials 60 and 62 and unevenness of the peripheral surfaces of the base materials 60 and 62 are not transferred to the upper and lower surfaces of the formed glass ribbon GL. GL can be molded.

  FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the configuration of the forming device 42 of the sheet glass manufacturing apparatus 40 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) of the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, the tension rollers 46 to 52 (the tension rollers 50 and 52 are not shown) of the molding apparatus 42 are steam generating tension rollers, and the first tension roller 44 that is an odd-numbered tension roller on the most upstream side. Indicates a cooling roller.

  The tension roller 44, which is a cooling roller, cools the roller body by introducing a coolant into the cylindrical roller body. Therefore, the hot glass ribbon GL wound around the tension roller 44 is directly cooled by being brought into sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the roller body of the tension roller 44.

Thus, the tension roller that cools the glass ribbon GL through the thin layer 66 of the vapor film by directly cooling the high-temperature glass ribbon GL immediately after leaving the glass melting furnace only by the tension roller 44 that is a cooling roller. The cooling capacity about three times that of 18 (see FIG. 5) can be obtained, and the passage length of the glass ribbon GL in the forming apparatus 42 can be shortened. Although there is a concern that the surface quality of the glass ribbon may be deteriorated due to the unevenness caused by the cooling roller, there is actually a tension roller that forms a vapor film downstream from it. The effect can improve the surface quality. Therefore, it is possible to suppress or prevent the deterioration of the quality of the glass ribbon surface as compared with the conventional molding using only a rolling roller that does not form a vapor film. Further, since the tension roller 46 for a steam film forming it is disposed above, the tensile force F ₂ of the glass ribbon GL, forcing at both ends of the glass ribbon GL concave groove 54 of the tension roller 46 Ryakutotsujo Part B is formed.

  The tension roller 44 may be a steam generating tension roller. In this case, the high cooling effect in the case of the above-described cooling roller cannot be obtained, but the quality of the lower surface of the glass ribbon GL is high as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the configuration of the forming device 82 of the plate glass manufacturing device 80 of the third embodiment. This forming apparatus 82 applies the tension roller 18 shown in FIG. 5 as the odd-numbered tension roller on the most upstream side, and applies the tension roller 46 shown in FIG. 7 as the even-numbered tension roller on the most upstream side. It is a thing.

  That is, this forming apparatus 82 uses tension rollers 18 and 46 in which concave grooves 30 and 54 are formed at both ends as the first and second tension rollers of the most upstream. By appropriately adjusting the tensile force of the glass ribbon GL passing through the forming device 82, a substantially convex portion A is formed by the concave groove 30 on the lower surface side of the glass ribbon GL, and a substantially convex shape is formed by the concave groove 54. Part B is formed. In addition, the substantially convex-shaped part formed in the both ends of a glass ribbon may be the place which entered the center direction of the glass ribbon from the most end part of the glass ribbon like FIG. 8, and the most end part of a glass ribbon May be. Thus, by forming the substantially convex portion A on the lower surface of the glass ribbon GL and forming the substantially convex portion B on the upper surface of the glass ribbon GL, the shrinkage in the width direction of the glass ribbon GL causes the upper and lower concave grooves 30. 54, the glass ribbon GL can be easily formed into a glass ribbon having a desired width and a desired plate thickness. The tension rollers after the tension rollers 18 and 46 may also have concave grooves.

  9 is a perspective view of the tension roller 18 (46) in which one steam escape groove 84 is spirally formed on the peripheral surface of the roller base 60, and FIG. 10 is a steam escape groove 86 on the surface of the roller base 60. 86 are perspective views of the tension roller 18 (46) formed in plural along the axial direction thereof.

  If the steam continuously generated between the tension roller 18 (46) and the glass ribbon GL stays in the meantime, there is a problem that the glass ribbon GL is deformed (swells) due to the pressure of the staying steam. Therefore, by forming the steam escape grooves 84 and 86 on the peripheral surface of the roller base 60 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the steam generated between the tension roller 18 (46) and the glass ribbon GL is escaped from the steam. Along the grooves 84 and 86, the sheet is discharged to the outside from between the tension roller 18 (46) and the glass ribbon GL. Thereby, since accumulation of steam can be prevented, the deformation of the glass ribbon GL can be prevented.

  9 and the steam escape groove 86 in FIG. 10 are compared, both the steam escape grooves 84 and 86 make the pressure distribution of the vapor film uniform in the width direction of the glass ribbon GL. Although effective, since the spiral steam escape groove 84 is formed in the circumferential direction of the roller base material 80, compared with the linear steam escape groove 86 formed along the axial direction, High steam escape rate per unit area. In addition, the groove depth of the steam escape grooves 84 and 86 is preferably 1 to 3 mm, and the groove width is also preferably 1 to 3 mm.

  The glass ribbon GL formed by the plate glass manufacturing apparatus and the plate glass manufacturing method described above can be used as a glass substrate for FPD (Flat Panel Display), a glass plate for building materials, and a glass plate for other uses.

  In the embodiment, the soda-lime glass is exemplified, but it can be applied even to a glass not containing an alkali component.

Although this application has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application is based on a Japanese patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-162752) filed on Jul. 9, 2009, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Sheet glass manufacturing apparatus 12 ... Glass melting furnace 13 ... Lip surface 14 ... Molding apparatus 16 ... Roller delivery apparatus 17 ... Slow cooling furnace 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 ... Tension roller 28 ... Roller 30 ... Concave groove 40 ... Sheet glass Manufacturing device 42 ... Molding device 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 ... Tension roller 54 ... Recessed groove 60 ... Roller base material 62 ... Base material 64 ... Vapor film forming agent 66 ... Thin layer 68 ... Rotating shaft 70 ... Inner peripheral surface portion 72 ... Central cavity 80 ... Plate glass manufacturing device 82 ... Molding device 84, 86 ... Steam escape groove 100 ... Cutting means

Claims (14)

A molten glass ribbon supply unit that supplies a continuous molten glass flow to the forming unit as a glass ribbon at a moldable temperature;
A molding unit including a plurality of tension rollers that form a glass ribbon having a moldable temperature supplied from the molten glass ribbon supply unit to form a glass ribbon having an unmoldable temperature;
An unloading section for unloading a glass ribbon at an unmoldable temperature on the downstream side of the forming section,
The plurality of tension rollers are
The axis is arranged in the horizontal direction and perpendicular to the moving direction of the glass ribbon,
Among the plurality of tension rollers, the odd-numbered tension roller from the upstream side in the moving direction of the glass ribbon is located on the lower surface side of the glass ribbon, and the even-numbered tension roller is located on the upper surface side of the glass ribbon,
In the odd-numbered and even-numbered tension rollers adjacent to the plurality of tension rollers, the highest position of the peripheral surface of the odd-numbered tension roller is the same height as or the lowest position of the peripheral surface of the even-numbered tension roller. Is arranged at a higher position, and the distance between the peripheral surfaces of the odd and even tension rollers adjacent to each other is wider than the thickness of the glass ribbon existing between the peripheral surfaces,
At least the most upstream tension roller among the odd-numbered tension rollers of the plurality of tension rollers, at least the most upstream tension roller among the even-numbered tension rollers, or at least most of the odd-numbered and even-numbered tension rollers. The two tension rollers on the upstream side have concave grooves that form substantially convex strips at both ends of the glass ribbon in the circumferential direction of both ends,
All of the plurality of tension rollers or all but the first tension roller are formed of a roller base material capable of containing a vapor film forming agent therein, and are generated from the vapor film forming agent contained in the roller base material. An apparatus for producing sheet glass, wherein the apparatus is a steam generating tension roller having a structure in which the steam is supplied between the peripheral surface of the tension roller and the surface of the glass ribbon.   The plate glass manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first tension roller is a steam generating tension roller having a concave groove.   The plate glass according to claim 1, wherein the first tension roller is a cooling roller cooled by a coolant introduced into the roller body, and at least the most upstream tension roller of the even-numbered tension rollers has a concave groove. Manufacturing equipment.   When the first tension roller has a concave groove, the odd-numbered tension roller after that, and when the second tension roller has the concave groove, the even-numbered tension roller after that is compared to the diameter of the central portion. The plate glass manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a small-diameter end portion.   The plate glass manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the position of the axis of the odd-numbered tension roller is lower than the position of the axis of the adjacent even-numbered tension roller.   The apparatus for producing plate glass according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the steam generating tension roller has a groove for releasing steam on a peripheral surface thereof. Manufacture of glass plate that forms glass ribbon at a formable temperature through a plurality of tension rollers arranged with its axis in the horizontal direction and perpendicular to the moving direction of the glass ribbon to form a glass ribbon at an unmoldable temperature In the method
A plurality of tension rollers arranged alternately above and below the glass ribbon, with the glass ribbons at the formable temperature being separated from each other by separating the peripheral surfaces of adjacent tension rollers wider than the thickness of the glass ribbons existing between the peripheral surfaces. Molding in between,
At both ends in the width direction of the glass ribbon, a substantially convex strip portion is formed by a tension roller having concave grooves formed in the circumferential direction at both ends,
A steam generating tension roller is used for at least a part of the plurality of tension rollers, and the glass ribbon is supported by the tension roller by interposing steam between the glass ribbon and the peripheral surface of the steam generating tension roller. Production method.   A glass ribbon at a moldable temperature is first supported by a steam generating tension roller having a concave groove provided on the lower side of the glass ribbon, and then supported by a steam generating tension roller provided on the upper side of the glass ribbon. The manufacturing method of the plate glass of Claim 7.   A glass ribbon at a formable temperature is first supported by a cooling roller provided on the lower side of the glass ribbon and cooled, and then supported by a steam generating tension roller having a concave groove provided on the upper side of the glass ribbon. The manufacturing method of the plate glass of Claim 7.   A glass ribbon at a formable temperature is first supported by a steam generating tension roller having a concave groove provided on the lower side of the glass ribbon, and then a steam generating tension roller having a concave groove provided on the upper side of the glass ribbon. The manufacturing method of the plate glass of Claim 7 supported by. The temperature of the glass ribbon immediately before contacting the first tension roller is at a temperature equivalent to 10 ^{2.0 to 3.9} Pa · s that can be molded, and the glass ribbon at the position immediately after contacting the last tension roller. The manufacturing method of the plate glass of any one of Claims 7 thru | or 10 which exists in temperature equivalent to 10 ^6.4 Pa * s which cannot be shape | molded.   The steam generating tension roller is rotated in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the glass ribbon, or when rotated in the forward direction, the vapor generating tension roller is rotated at a peripheral speed of 1.1 times or more of the moving speed of the glass ribbon. The manufacturing method of the plate glass of any one of thru | or 11.   The manufacturing method of the plate glass of any one of Claims 7 thru | or 12 which anneals the glass ribbon used as the temperature which cannot be shape | molded, and cuts after that.   A method for producing a plate glass, comprising: slowly cooling the glass ribbon carried out from the carry-out portion of the plate glass production apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and then cutting the glass ribbon.

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